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Adam Shapiro
September 16, 2009
“It Starts When We’re Kids”
The Duplex – September 12, 18
I’ve seen Adam Shapiro perform many times, but until now, only in open mic appearances. With a solid baritone voice and the ability to be hilarious with comic material, strikingly dramatic with big ballads, and sweetly tender in gentler ones, in these performances he nearly always nailed it. But he has another quality, which one could see in sunny or funny numbers, or as he walked to the mic, or when he was sitting in the audience: call it joy, call it innocence, call it open-hearted benevolence; it is all of the above, and it is infectious and appealing. His natural expression is a smile. He’s like a big kid; how fitting, then, that his solo show should be devoted to songs from movies made for young audiences.
The program includes several songs that one might have expected, among them: “The Candy Man” (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley); “Rainbow Connection” (The Muppet Movie, Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher); “Beauty and the Beast” (yep, Howard Ashman, Alan Menken); “A Spoonful of Sugar” (Mary Poppins, Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman) done as a sing-along, which proves Shapiro’s point that the musicals we see as kids stay with us; and, of course, Ned Washington and Leigh Harline’s timeless “When You Wish Upon a Star” (Pinocchio).
There are also songs, perhaps not as well known, with themes that transcend age, such as: a medley of “Right Where I Belong” (The Muppets Take Manhattan, Jeff Moss) and “The Magic Store” (The Muppet Movie, Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher)—a celebration of being on stage; and “Candle on the Water” (Pete’s Dragon, Joel Hirschhorn, Al Kasha)—a heartfelt pledge of support.
Shapiro’s interpretations are variously funny, animated (no pun intended), charming, silly, affecting—as each song requires. Only with the super-touching “Somewhere Out There” (An American Tail, James Horner, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) does he run aground: the too-big, too-pop treatment robs the song of its emotional impact.
Throughout, Shapiro shows that he is not only a good singer and a very likable person, he is also a born showman. At the piano, A. Michael Tilford—clearly a kid at heart himself—joins in the fun and games with spirit.
Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for over thirty years. He’s written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on “New York Theatre Review” on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. A critic for BistroAwards.com, he is also the site’s Reviews Editor; in addition, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC.
